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Video On Demand Almost Here For San Franciscans

Posted by timothy on from the tremble-gently-at-the-thought dept.

BeatlesForum.com writes: "Looks like San Francisco-area folks could be in for a taste of video when you want it, according to this article from Reuters. The article mentions that we will be able to start and stop the on-demand stream whenever we want. Kinda sounds like TiVo now, except you still have to fit around the broadcast schedule. Interesting statistic quoted from the article, though: it is expected that 5.5 million homes will have VOD by the end of the year. Imagine being able to pull up 2001: A Space Odyssey at 2:38 a.m.."

5 of 159 comments (clear)

  1. Got this on Long Island... by smart.id · · Score: 4, Informative

    On Long Island we have this. It is called I/O (Interactive Optimum), and it is provided by Cablevision.

    --
    blog & fiction: jd87
  2. Been here for ages in Hawaii by gengee · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've had digital cable for about 2 years or so here in Hawai'i - And we've had video on demand at least that long. In the beginning the selection was small and quality would sometimes degrade during 'prime time.' But for the last year or so quality has been perfect, and selection has steadily increased (To about 200 movies, usually 5-10 new movies every 2 weeks or so).

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    - James
  3. It's already out there, and it really works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    As someone who works with this type of technology day in and day out, I can tell you it is here, and it's here to stay. Just about all of the cable companies that my company services, have said that there digital box returns after VOD was rolled out went from aroun 50% to less than 10%. It's a good source of revenue for the cable providers. As far as streaming the movies, the way that we do it, is if there are say 5 people that order the same movie within say 60 secs of one another, then they will actually all be receiving the same stream, which of course takes less bandwidth, until one of them decides to pause, rew, ff, etc, and then they break out of that stream and will have a single stream of their own.

    One of the really cool offshoots of VOD is SVOD (Subscription VOD) which is currently being deployed through a number of operators. SVOD is where you can watch past episodes of shows on premium networks, such as The Sopranos or Band of Brothers, which means you could finally get to see that episode that you may have missed.

    Cheers

  4. Time Warner Communications in Brevard County, FL by Gangis · · Score: 4, Informative

    Time Warner Communications is preparing to roll out their VOD service pretty soon here in Brevard County, Florida. Average price is $3.99 a video, and will be available for multiple viewing for a single customer within 48 hours of purchasing the movie. The digital cable remote controller already has VOD featurs, such as a switch that allows us to control the VCR or VOD. There are buttons like those you'd expect in a VCR, such as Rewind, FF, Pause, etc. Yes, you can pause a VOD!

    Mmm... LotR in DVD-quality through VOD...

    --
    "Black holes are where God divided by zero." - Steve Wright
  5. Happening in Australia too by purplemonkeydan · · Score: 4, Informative

    Pretty rare that Australia is actually somewhat close to leading edge ;)

    Optus are trialling a digital VOD system in Sydney. You can subscribe to the commerical trial, and pay to be their guinea pig ... err ... early adopter. They are using Liberate as the platform, and Pace STU's.

    The movies are about 6 months old, which is 12 months better than standard pay TV.